How to Clean Fresh Caught Scallops

So you have been out for a dive and managed to catch yourself some live scallops. Congratulations. Harvesting your own food offers a satisfaction that is hard to match. Still, how do you get these live squirting creatures from the goodie bag to the dinner table? If you’ve managed to harvest scallops, here is the simplest way of preparing them for a quick sear in the pan.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Live scallops
• Butter knife
• Patience

1. Hold the scallop firmly in your hand, with your thumb near the hinge.
2. Carefully slide the butter knife into the space between the two shells and pry open gently.
3. Use your thumb to hold the shell open wide enough that you can slip the knife in.
4. Working slowly, scrape the bottom of the shell with the butter knife to separate the scallop from its shell. There will be a point when the muscle that holds the shell closed will give. That is the point where you know that the scallop is no longer alive.
5. Open the shell completely and continue to scrape the base of the shell to separate the meat.
6. Holding the meat of the scallop, pull the filaments from the body. What you will be left with is the medallion and coral.
7. Prepare scallops as desired.

Tips & Warnings

• Freshly harvested scallops are absolutely wonderful seared in a pan for a minute and a half on each side.
• Never use a sharp knife to clean scallops. Doing so will likely cause you to cut through the flesh rather than separate it from the shell. You’re also more likely to cut yourself.
• Always clean scallops within two days of collecting for freshness. If you don’t think you’ll eat them immediately, put them on ice or in the freezer.